Thanks everyone. I appreciate the kind words. I think it's good to see different ways of doing things from a lot of different folks. You never know when you're going to pick up a great idea you never thought of before.
I've really learned a lot from the folks here (especially from Nat!) about wood stoves. That's something I've not been around much in earlier years. Hope to have one someday. I also learned tons of info from boat sites about composting toilets, which I also want in the bus by next year. No matter how experienced you are, you can always learn something from someone that's been down the road a few more times than yourself!
Do you happen to have any more details on the shower? I've got an 88 Gillig Phantom (school bus, not transit) and I'm planning on doing a step-down shower as well. I don't have the rear stairs to build it into, but I think I can just cut away the floor and with a little welding, create a lower flower section that gives me an extra 6-8 inches or so of headroom for the shower area, and still keeps it above my gray water tank. what size and where do you have your gray water tank?
You should be able to build framework to support the shower pan below the floor assuming nothing is in the way below it. My shower pan is stainless and custom made to fit the step well. It turned out to be very expensive simply because I couldn't use a premade shower pan and the custom job cost me about $350. The other mistake I made is that I didn't make the bottom with a slight angle, so it doesn't drain well if the bus is off level (and they are always off level). Next time I make one, I'll make sure it's got some pitch to it. Your grey water tank should be where ever it will fit. Your bus is likely very different below the floor than mine. The transits have a very large fuel tank and a ton of other crap under them. My greywater tank was shallow, but wide. Not ideal, but you have to play the hand you've got.
thanks for the photos. I like the idea of the custom stainless shower pan. Not sure I can swing that much money, but it does make for a super-clean looking install! Still have a long ways to go before I get to that point I guess.